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Nat Hentoff and how Jesse Jackson sold his soul

A few weeks ago, Nat Hentoff, a long-time columnist for the Village Voice, died. Despite the fact that Hentoff was a political liberal and an atheist, he was remembered fondly by many conservative Christians, particularly for his principled opposition to abortion and his defense of the freedom of speech, even...

Posted by Michael Bates on January 25, 2017 10:37 PM

<em>Je ne regrette rien</em>: France creates anti-conscience safe space

The Wall Street Journal editorial reports that France's High Audiovisual Council (which sounds like nerds with tape on their glasses wielding gavels) has banned "a television commercial showing happy children with Down Syndrome." Produced to commemorate World Down Syndrome Day, the commercial showed several cheerful children with DS addressing a...

Posted by Michael Bates on December 3, 2016 6:00 AM

Pro-life group: Fred Jordan led defeat of key bill

In a state as strongly pro-life as Oklahoma, legislation to protect the unborn and pregnant women normally sails through to passage. But sometimes that legislation is stymied by judges. Although appeals court judges and supreme court justices are subject to a periodic retention vote of the people, I can't recall...

Posted by Michael Bates on August 22, 2014 11:58 AM

Oklahomans for Life: Kathy Taylor gave to pro-abortion PAC

Oklahomans for Life, an organization that works for pro-life legislation at the State Capitol and publishes candidate questionnaires on abortion, euthanasia, and related issues, has noted Tulsa mayoral candidate Kathy Taylor's financial support for Emily's List, a political action committee that requires a radical pro-abortion litmus test of any candidates...

Posted by Michael Bates on October 19, 2013 12:58 AM

C. Everett Koop, RIP, father of the evangelical pro-life movement

Former U. S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop died Monday at the age of 96. Many of the headlines about his death have focused on his time as a member of President Reagan's cabinet and his breaks with conservative allies on government policies regarding tobacco and AIDS. Evangelicals of a...

Posted by Michael Bates on February 26, 2013 9:07 PM

Personhood: David Derby responds

Rep. David Derby (R-Owasso) sent me a response to my comments regarding his decision to withdraw his endorsement of his colleague, George Faught, in the race for the Republican nomination for Oklahoma's 2nd Congressional District, in connection with Faught's news release on the failure of SB 1433, the personhood bill,...

Posted by Michael Bates on May 5, 2012 7:58 PM

Personhood: Those few who stood for the sanctity of human life

Last week, on April 26, when State Rep. Mike Reynolds tried in vain to appeal the ruling of the speaker pro tempore, so that the Personhood bill (SB 1433) would be heard, only 15 other state representatives were willing to stand with him. This in spite of the fact that...

Posted by Michael Bates on May 4, 2012 2:50 AM

Oklahoma House Republicans abort pro-life bill in secret caucus vote

Oklahoma Speaker of the House Kris Steele has pulled a pro-life bill from the House calendar, effectively killing it for the year. SB 1433, which establishes the principle that personhood begins at conception, was, figuratively speaking, poisoned and dismembered by Steele, who claimed the support of a secret vote in...

Posted by Michael Bates on April 24, 2012 1:31 AM

Tulsa County Republican Party Statement of Principles

The following Statement of Principles was adopted as part of the 2012 Tulsa County Republican Platform at the Tulsa County Republican Convention on Saturday, March 24, 2012. It is identical to the Statement of Principles section in the 2011 platform and is nearly identical to the Statement of Principles in...

Posted by Michael Bates on March 26, 2012 12:17 AM

Nationwide Rally for Religious Freedom noon Friday, March 23, 2012

Americans will rally in 140 cities across the nation at noon tomorrow, Friday, March 23, 2012, to protest the Obamacare HHS mandate requiring nearly all private health insurance plans to cover "all FDA-approved prescription contraceptive drugs and devices, surgical sterilizations and abortion-inducing drugs," overriding an employer's moral convictions. Tulsa's rally...

Posted by Michael Bates on March 22, 2012 12:53 PM

MEND marks 25 years

Earlier this evening, I attended the annual fundraising banquet for MEND Medical Clinic and Pregnancy Resource Center. MEND was founded in 1987 to provide pregnant women in crisis pregnancies in the Tulsa area with the resources they need to say "yes" to the new life growing within. In 2011, MEND...

Posted by Michael Bates on March 8, 2012 10:40 PM

Should Christians fast from politics?

Chuck Colson responds to the conclusion of Tempting Faith, by David Kuo, the disillusioned former staffer in President Bush's office of faith-based initiatives. But Kuo is dead wrong to suggest that that Christians ought to enter into a time of "fasting" from politics. These words, which I wrote in 1987,...

Posted by Michael Bates on November 1, 2006 6:03 PM

The remark of Cain

In case you missed it, an excerpt from the remarks of State Senator Bernest Cain: "I got a quote the other day that I got from Adolf Hitler. Adolf Hitler. And I don't have the exact words, but here's basically what it says. He says, in our government we are...

Posted by Michael Bates on May 18, 2003 12:31 AM